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A growing effort within academia and civil society aimed at responsible data governance has led to the development of principles and guidance for how data should be collected, used, and shared in ways that maximize value and minimize harm to beneficiaries and other vulnerable individuals.

Privacy questions arise due to the volume and sensitivity of health data generated by consumer-focused apps, devices, and platforms, including the potential analytics uses that can be made of such data. Transparency about data practices is essential not just as a fundamental element of privacy, but is also key to engendering consumer trust, which in turn is critical to the adoption of these services. Without trust, consumers will resist using apps or devices and the industry as a whole will suffer. Overall, transparency practices should be guided by the principle that the consumer should not be surprised. The more unexpected or potentially objectionable a data collection or usage is, the greater the obligation to explain it to consumers.

The goal of CDT’s model best practices is to credibly safeguard individual privacy while enabling a wide range of private drone uses. Strong distrust of drones on privacy grounds holds back broad public acceptance of the industry, but following a meaningful set of best practices can help address these issues. Ultimately, it is in the best interests of both the industry and consumers to establish sensible norms for drone privacy, transparency, and accountability. CDT believes our proposed privacy best practices for drones advance us toward that goal.